Scientist: Eating Food Off The Floor May Be OK

Study finds the longer food is on the ground, the more bacteria it collects. (Getty Images)

LONDON (CBS Atlanta) – The five-second rule may be right after all, reports CNet.

A British microbiologist decided to test how dirty food gets when you drop it on the floor.

Anthony Hilton of Aston University in Birmingham and his students dropped pasta, toast and various sticky candies on different types of floors, carpet, tile and laminated, then tested to see how many bacteria clung to the foodstuffs.

They found the longer food stays on the floor, the more likely it is to attract all sorts of microscopic nasties.

The researchers also discovered the type of surface can have a big impact on how safe a piece of food is to eat.

“We have found evidence that transfer from indoor flooring surfaces is incredibly poor with carpet actually posing the lowest risk of bacterial transfer onto dropped food,” said Hilton.

His team also found 87 percent of people admitted they would eat food off the floor or had already done so.